Magazines Want Your Input

Want to get more publicity? Start by giving media what they want.

In many issues of magazines, they call for input from their readers. By offering such input, you can start to create relationships with the editors of those magazines. And maybe

Here are a few recent calls for input and feedback:

Pet Stories

Do you have a cute story about one of your pets? Send in your Pet Pals stories to Reader’s Digest via https://www.rd.com/petpals. Submit your story and any visuals via that link.

Man’s best friend may be a dog, but she could be a cat, a horse, or a pig. Our pets form powerful bonds with us­—and sometimes with other animals. Reader’s Digest is on the prowl for the most touching, adorable, or hilarious friendships involving a pet. Submit your story and photos (and video!) for consideration. We will honor the best in many categories of friendship online, in the magazine, and on social media.

Six Word Stories

Every month Wired magazine asks for new six-word stories via their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds. Submit your six-word stories on any of those social networks with the hashtag #wiredsixword. In November, they featured six-word stories about the future of psychotherapy. Here are a few of the submissions:

My AI said, “Try analog dating.” —@joshdblack, via Twitter

Her insurance only covered chat bots. —Spencer McKeehan, via Facebook

So tell me about your motherboard. —@j.d._harelik, via Instagram

Swipe left until it feels right. —@cvelascop, via Instagram

This month’s prompt: In six words, write a children’s book from the future.

Again, submit via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtag #wiredsixword. Or email mail@wired.com. Each month you can discover the latest prompt by searching six word stories on Wired.com.

Minor Miracles

Do you have a story about a miracle worker in your life? Or something incredible that happened to you? If so, Reader’s Digest wants to hear from you. Submit your story and any visuals at https://www.rd.com/minor-miracles.

There’s good in the world. We know it—mostly because our readers remind us every day. Has something happened for you that was so incredible it can’t be considered anything short of a miracle? Is there a miracle worker in your life who makes everything better? If you’re convinced you have received a little help from above, we’d love to hear about it. Submit your miracle story—in 100 words or fewer—and we might share it with our readers in Reader’s Digest or on RD.com.

Holiday Baking

Have you created a delicious desert recipe for the holidays? If so, Midwest Living wants to know about it. Tag your holiday baking photos with #midwestmoment for a possible feature in their Instagram feed.

This submission, of course, works well for any cookbook authors, especially those who live in the Midwest.

Love Stories

Reader’s Digest likes to hear from their readers. Here they are asking for the many wonderful ways someone has told you that they love you. Submit your love story at https://www.rd.com/lovestory.

We have a lot of ways of showing our love. We hold hands, buy flowers, or share a romantic meal. One Michigan farmer found a different way to plow the question. A few years back, he cut the words Marry Me into his wheat field and then took his presumed bride-to-be on a plane ride so she could read it (she said yes from a few thousand feet up). We want to know: What is the most clever or hilarious way someone told you they loved you? Tell us about it and see terms, and it might make it into an upcoming issue of Reader’s Digest.

The purpose in sending in such stories or providing other input to magazine editors is to get your name in front of them. Submitting such input is one way to get their attention and perhaps start a relationship with them.

Submit a six-word story to Wired.com, for example, every month and they might start to notice you. Always, of course, include your name, email, and author of Your Book Title.

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